Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition announced: Samsung at IFA 2013

In the third part of our three article series on Samsung’s announcements at IFA 2013, we’ll be covering the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. You can also check out our previous segments on the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and the Galaxy Note 3. Let’s get started.

The Note 10.1 was perhaps the most unexpected part of Samsung’s presentation, as we hadn’t really heard much about the refreshed tablet prior. The original Note 10.1 tablet didn’t do much to really earn that Note moniker, so it’s great to see a big improvement here in what Samsung are calling the 2014 Edition.

The new tablet is just 7.9 millimetres thick and now includes the same beautiful display as the earlier Nexus 10 tablet (which was made by Samsung). The Note 10.1 has a vastly improved Exynos Octa chipset at 1.9 GHz, which appeared in some international versions of the Galaxy S4. The Note 10.1 also now includes a class-leading 3 GB of RAM, the same as the Note 3 smartphone.

The Note 10.1 also includes a similar look to the Note 3, with a faux-leather rear panel that surprisingly looks a lot better than the Hyperglaze coating that’s been so ubiquitous on Samsung products as of late. The 13 megapixel camera from the Note 3 didn’t make the jump, but the 10.1 still includes a surprisingly capable 8 megapixel camera on the rear and a 2 megapixel one on the front.

In terms of software, we’ve got a few new features. Air Command is a way of launching stylus-friendly applications once the S Pen is undocked from its silo, while Multi-Window sees support for a larger number of applications. The base operating system is Android 4.3, again coated in a heaping helping of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI / Nature UX.

The Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) will be launched worldwide on September 25th, where it’ll come with Galaxy Gear support out of the box. There will be three configurations, including Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G / LTE.

We’ll be adding a range of Note 10.1 2014 Edition accessories soon, so be sure to check back before the release date! Your Note 10.1 cases and covers aren’t compatible with the new version as it’s a considerably different size, but we’ll be ready for you.